128 LIFE OF MYTTON. 



feit for a stake at Winchester, where the horse was 

 engaged in the name of the person whom Mr. Beards- 

 worth bought him of.' — This is notoriously untrue ; 

 and, by the manner in which the writer speaks of the 

 transaction altogether, it is to be feared it is wilfully so. 



" The next paragraph I apprehend, too, is incor- 

 rect ; but which I will not speak so positively about, 

 because I know but little of racing, and therefore am 

 unwilling to compete with so precocious a youth as 

 this appears to be. 



" He says, ' It has long been one of the best ac- 

 knowledged rules of racinor that no horse is entitled 

 to be a ivinner until all the arrears due for such animal 

 have been paid up.' Is he sure of that ? Where is 

 the rule to be found ? Has he not made a mistake ? 

 and instead of the words 'to be a winner,' should he 

 not have said ' to start ? ' This talented gentleman 

 may not see the difference. Great wits, they say, 

 have short memories — perhaps they are short-sighted 

 too I In my humble judgment, there is a great deal 

 of difference. By making use of the word ' start,' 

 you afford the owner an opportunity of paying the 

 stake in arrears, if applied for, instead of letting the 

 onus hang over his head till he has defeated his 

 antagonists. 



